Have you ever heard of Elephant apples? No, it does not look like elephant but yes it is one of the foods eaten by elephants. And guess what, it is eaten in Bangladesh too! Not as raw as elephants does, but in various ways like in daal, chatni or as pickles. My favourite way to eat Chalta is as pickles. So thank you Flora Aunty for the Chalta.

Chalta or elephant apple taste something in between sour-bitter-fibrous and it is not even a real fruit. According to botanical definition, elephant apple is a false fruit, which means the flower petals are grown into firm waxy and leathery part to make a round fruit like shape. If you want to know more about this interesting fruit, I recommend you to visit this website – www.Specialtyproduce.com.

So today we are making Chalta pickle. I am thankful to Ezze Recipe Channel for this easy pickle recipe. For that we need Bangladeshi mustard oil, jaggery or molases, whole spices like – mustard, coriander, cumin and fennel seeds, paach phoron, turmeric and red chili powder, whole dry red chili, some garlic and bay leaves, salt and white vinegar.

It is quite difficult to cut chalta, as it releases some slimy thingy so it can be dangerous to cut it, if not careful. The best way to cut them is to first cut it in the middle in half and then cut it half again.

Then remove the brown parts inside, wash with normal water. While washing, you will notice that slimy substances are releasing from the fruit. So it is better to wash for three to four times. After washing, I sliced Chalta pieces as thinly as possible.

I then put the sliced Chalta in boiling water of salt and turmeric powder. I boiled them until Chalta got softer and cooked thoroughly.

Meanwhile I made a spice blend with dry spices. In a hot pan, I added dry red chili, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and toasted them until they released aroma. Careful while toasting them because they can get burnt easily. Then I used a mortar-pestle to coarsly grind the spices mixture. I also prepared the other ingredients for the pickle-sliced the onion and jaggery.

When Chalta got boiled, I strained them and let them cool down a bit. Then I pound Chalta pieces with the same morter pestle so the flesh of chalta get mushy. This way it will be easier to make Chalta pickles.

In a big pan, I added mustard oil and heated in medium temperature. Then I added bay leaf, few dry red chili and thinly sliced garlic. When garlic released aroma, I added mustard seed paste.

All spices added before gets burned easily so I quickly added Chalta pieces and coated well with all spices and oil. Then I added jaggeri or gur. It will take some time to melt all the gur so we have to be little patient with that and have to stir continuously.

After all the gur get mixed, the color of the pickle at this moment looks really reddish-brown. However chalta pieces are not yet cooked at this point. So we have to cover the pot with lid and simmer then for 20 minutes in low temperature.

After 20 minutes to slow cooking, chalta got cooked thoroughly and perfectly blended with all spices. Now I have added vinegar. It is very important to add vinegar to keep the pickle fresh for longer time. At this point I also checked salt. I added salt when I boiled chalta in turmeric water. So we have to be careful with the salt amount. If you think you need more, just add at this point and cook for 5 more minutes.

At the last step, I added the coarsly grind spice mix and mix them well with all pickles. This spice mix adds a brilliant flavor and texture to the pickle.

When the pickle was done, I transferred them in a separate bowl to cool it down. It can be stored in the fridge as long as you want. So enjoy this new pickle and let me know if you have tried it!

Recipe: Elephant Apple Pickle – Chaltar Achar

Ingredients: Chalta / Elephant Apple– 1 piece whole Cumin – 1 tsp whole Coriander -2 tsp Mustard seed (white) – 1tsp Fennel seed – 2 tsp whole pach phoron – 1/3 tsp Bay leaf – 1pc Dry red chili – 5/6 pieces Mustard oil – 1/4 cup Jaggery/gur – 125g Vinegar – 2 tbsp Turmeric powder- 1tsp Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp

Instructions: 1. Dry roast dry red chili, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds and coarsely grind them. Set them aside. 2. Cut Chalta in half and again cut in half. remove the brown pith. Wash the rest of the parts with cold water. Slice thinly all Chalta petals. 3. In a big pan, boil water with turmeric and salt. Add chalta slices and boil until cooked. Then strain water and let the chalta pieces get cool. Then pound all chalta until they are little mushy textured. 4. In a big non stick pan/wok, add mustard oil and heat in medium temperature, add bay leaf, few dry red chili and thinly sliced garlic. When garlic released aroma, add mustard paste. 5. Add mashed chalta pieces and jaggery. Coat with spices and oil. Stir until the jeggary gets dissolved. 6. Then Cover the pan and simmer in low heat for 20 minutes. 7. Add coarsely ground spice mix and vinegar. When oil floats above then the pickle is ready. Set them aside in a bowl to cool down. Store in refrigerator for 6 months.